DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 1-3-2025 and 8-28-2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) are acknowledged by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 19 is objected to because of the following informalities: the limitation ‘device.,’ should be spelled ‘device,’ in lines 28-29. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-19 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, it is not clear in line 8 and lines 18-19 of claim 1 if the limitation: ‘the device’ refers to the AU device or HU device. Appropriate action is required. Claims 2-18 depend on claim 1.
Regarding claim 19, it is not clear in line 8 and lines 18-19, 31, 41, and 42 of claim 1 if the limitation: ‘the device’ refers to the AU device or HU device. Appropriate action is required.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); and In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on a nonstatutory double patenting ground provided the conflicting application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with this application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement.
Effective January 1, 1994, a registered attorney or agent of record may sign a terminal disclaimer. A terminal disclaimer signed by the assignee must fully comply with 37 CFR 3.73(b).
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory obviousness-type double patenting as being unpatentable over: claims 1-3, 15, 16, 20 of Application No. 18/967,917, claims 1, 8, 9, 15, 20 of Application No. 18/911,427 and claims 1-32 of U.S. Pat. No. 12,136,426.
Although the conflicting claims are not identical, they are not patentably distinct from each other because the cited application(s) and patent mentioned above disclose:
‘…obtaining, at a system, first audio data during a first communication session that includes an assisted user (AU) device and a hearing user (HU) device wherein the HU device is remotely located from the AU device;
selecting, automatically and independently by the system based on a first availability of a plurality of first captioning resources, one of the plurality of first captioning resources instead of one of a plurality of second captioning resources to generate a transcription of the first audio data to direct to the device, wherein the plurality of first captioning resources use a first process to generate transcripts and the plurality of second captioning resources use a second process to generate transcripts that is different than the first process;
obtaining, by the system, second audio data during a second communication session that includes the AU device and that is different from the first communication session; and
selecting, automatically and independently by the system based on one or more characteristics of the second communication session, one of the plurality of second captioning resources instead of one of the plurality of first captioning resources to generate a transcription of the second audio data to direct to the device, wherein the one or more characteristics includes a second number of the plurality of first captioning resources that are available…’ along with the other limitations of claim 1 in the instant application;
‘…further comprising directing the transcription generated by the selected transcription unit to the AU device…’ along with the other limitations of claim 2 in the instant application;
‘…obtaining, at a system, first audio data during a first communication
session that includes an assisted user (AU) device and a hearing user (HU)
device wherein the HU device is remotely located from the AU device;
selecting, automatically and independently by the system based on a first
availability of a plurality of first captioning resources, one of the plurality of first
captioning resources instead of one of a plurality of second captioning resources
to generate a transcription of the first audio data to direct to the device, wherein
the plurality of first captioning resources use a first process to generate
transcripts and the plurality of second captioning resources use a second
process to generate transcripts that is different than the first process;
obtaining, by the system, second audio data during a second
communication session that includes the AU device and that is different from the
first communication session; and
selecting, automatically and independently by the system based on one or
more characteristics of the second communication session, one of the plurality of
second captioning resources instead of one of the plurality of first captioning
resources to generate a transcription of the second audio data to direct to the
device, wherein the one or more characteristics includes a second number of the
plurality of first captioning resources that are available;
wherein each first captioning resource includes one of a revoicing
resource wherein a processor receives a voice signal generated by a call
assistant (CA) and uses an ASR to generate captions and an ASR engine that
captions HU voice signal captured by the HU device and each second captioning
resource includes the other of a revoicing resource wherein a processor receives
a voice signal generated by a call assistant (CA) and uses an ASR to generate
captions and an ASR engine that captions HU voice signal captured by the HU
device, one of the plurality of first captioning resources instead of one of a plurality of
second captioning resources to generate a transcription of the first audio data to
direct to the device, wherein the plurality of first captioning resources use a first
process to generate transcripts and the plurality of second captioning resources
use a second process to generate transcripts that is different than the first
process;
obtaining, by the system, second audio data during a second
communication session that includes the AU device and that is different from the
first communication session; and
selecting, automatically and independently by the system based on one or
more characteristics of the second communication session, one of the plurality of
second captioning resources instead of one of the plurality of first captioning
resources to generate a transcription of the second audio data to direct to the
device, wherein the one or more characteristics includes a second number of the
plurality of first captioning resources that are available…’ along with the other limitations in claim 19; and
‘…wherein an assisted user (AU) uses an AU
communication device to communicate with a hearing user (HU) using a HU
communication device, the method comprising the steps of:
obtaining first audio data from the AU device during a communication
session between the AU device and the HU device wherein the first audio data
includes an HU voice signal captured by the HU device and transmitted to the AU
device; and
selecting, automatically and independently by the system based on one or
more features of the communication session and an availability of a plurality of
first captioning resources, a captioning resource of a plurality of second
captioning resources instead of one of the plurality of first captioning resources to
generate a transcription of the first audio data, wherein the plurality of first
captioning resources use a first process to generate captions and the plurality of
second captioning resources use a second process to generate captions that is
different than the first process, wherein the availability of the plurality of first
captioning resources indicates that a number of the plurality of first captioning
resources that are idle and available to generate transcriptions of audio is below
or estimated to be below a threshold…’ along with the other claim limitations of claim 20.
Pending claims 1-3, 15, 16, 20 of Application No. 18/967,917 disclose the claimed invention in the pending claims:
Claim 1: A method for facilitating communication between an assisted user (AU) and a
hearing user (HU) wherein the AU uses an AU communication device including a
device display screen and the HU uses an HU communication device during a
communication session, the method comprising the steps of, during a
communication session between the AU communication device and the HU
communication device:
receiving an HU voice signal;
using a first captioning process to generate a first caption set for the HU
voice signal;
using a second captioning process to generate a second caption set for
the HU voice signal; determining a first accuracy corresponding to the first caption set;
determining a second accuracy corresponding to the second caption set;
identifying the captioning process associated with the most accurate of the
first and second caption sets as the most accurate captioning process;
subsequent to identifying the most accurate captioning process,
continuing captioning using the most accurate captioning process to generate
text captions; and presenting the text captions via the device display screen.
Regarding claim 2, the method of claim 1 wherein the first captioning process includes a first automatic speech recognition engine that receives the HU voice signal and
generates the first caption set independent of any human call assistant (CA).
Regarding claim 3, the method of claim 2 wherein the second captioning process includes a second automatic speech recognition engine that receives the HU voice signal and
generates the second caption set independent of any human call assistant (CA).
Regarding claim 15, a method for facilitating communication between an assisted user (AU) and a hearing user (HU) wherein the AU uses an AU communication device that
includes a display screen and the HU uses an HU communication device during
a communication session, the method comprising the steps of, during a
communication session between the AU communication device and the HU
communication device:
receiving an HU voice signal;
using each of a plurality of different captioning processes to generate a
plurality of caption sets corresponding to the HU voice signal;
determining separate accuracies corresponding to each of the plurality of
different captioning processes;
identifying the most accurate of the captioning processes;
subsequent to identifying the most accurate of the captioning processes:
(i) using the most accurate of the captioning processes to generate
text captions; and
(ii) presenting the text captions via the device display screen.
Regarding claim 16, the method of claim 15 wherein each of the captioning processes uses a different automatic speech recognition engine to generate an associated caption set, the step of determining separate accuracies including providing a first of the caption sets to a CA for error correction to generate a truth transcript and using the error corrections to assess the accuracies of the caption sets.
Regarding claim 20, a method for facilitating communication between an assisted user (AU) and a hearing user (HU) wherein the AU uses an AU communication device including a
device display screen and the HU uses an HU communication device during a
communication session, the method comprising the steps of, during a
communication session between the AU communication device and the HU
communication device:
receiving an HU voice signal;
using each of a plurality of different captioning processes to generate a
plurality of caption sets corresponding to the HU voice signal;
presenting the HU voice signal and a first caption set form the plurality of
caption sets to a call assistant (CA);
receiving error corrections from the CA to generate a truth transcript;
presenting the truth transcript to the AU via an AU device display screen;
comparing the corrected captions to each of the plurality of caption sets to
determine an accuracy for each of the plurality of captioning processes;
identifying a most accurate one of the captioning processes;
subsequent to identifying the most accurate one of the captioning
processes, using the most accurate captioning process to generate text captions;
presenting the text captions via the device display screen instead of the
truth captions; and cutting the CA out of the communication session.
Pending claims 1, 8, 9, 15, 20 of Application No. 18/911,427 disclose the claimed invention in the pending claims:
Claim 1: A method comprising:
during a first communication session between an assisted user (AU) using an AU
device and a first hearing user (HU) using a first HU device, using a first transcription
process to caption an HU voice signal thereby generating first caption text;
presenting the first caption text to the AU via the AU device;
receiving an indication via the AU device that the first caption text is
unsatisfactory;
in response to receiving the indication, adding the first transcription process to a
non-preferred transcription process list;
during a second communication session between the AU using the AU device
and a hearing user using an HU device, automatically selecting a second transcription
process to caption an HU voice signal thereby generating second caption text; and
presenting the second caption text to the AU via the AU device;
wherein the second transcription process is a transcription process that is not
included on the non-preferred transcription process.
Claim 8: The method of claim 1 wherein the first transcription process uses an
automatic speech recognition (ASR) engine to convert the first HU voice signal to the
first caption text.
Claim 9: The method of claim 8 wherein the second transcription process includes
a call assistant (CA) listening to the first HU voice signal and revoicing the HU voice
signal to an ASR engine to generate the first caption text.
Claim 15: A method comprising:
during a first communication session between an assisted user (AU) using an AU
device and a first hearing user (HU) using a first HU device, using a first transcription
process to caption an HU voice signal thereby generating first caption text;
presenting the first caption text to the AU via the AU device;
receiving a quality indication via the AU device indicating the perceived quality of
the first caption text;
during a second communication session between the AU using the AU device
and a hearing user using an HU device that occurs subsequent to the first
communication session, automatically selecting one selected transcription process from
a plurality of different transcription processes to caption an HU voice signal thereby
generating second caption text, wherein the selected transcription process is selected at
least in part as a function of the quality indication; and presenting the second caption text to the AU via the AU device.
Claim 20: A method comprising:
during a first communication session between an assisted user (AU) using an AU
device and a first hearing user (HU) using a first HU device, using a first transcription
process to caption an HU voice signal thereby generating first caption text;
presenting the first caption text to the AU via the AU device;
receiving a quality indication via the AU device indicating the perceived quality of
the first caption text, wherein the quality indication indicates either satisfactory or
unsatisfactory first caption text;
during a second communication session between the AU using the AU device
and a hearing user using an HU device that occurs subsequent to the first
communication session, automatically selecting one selected transcription process from
a plurality of different transcription processes to caption an HU voice signal thereby
generating second caption text, wherein the selected transcription process is selected at
least in part as a function of the quality indication; and
presenting the second caption text to the AU via the AU device.
Allowed claims 1-32 of U.S. Pat. No. 12,136,426 disclose the claimed invention in the allowed claims:
Claim 1: A method comprising: obtaining, at a system, a first rating of a first transcription of a voice signal from a first hearing user (HU) device during a first communication session involving an assisted user (AU) using an AU device and the first HU device, the first rating indicating feedback from the AU device regarding the first transcription and the first transcription obtained using a first transcription generation technique; after termination of the first communication session, obtaining, at the system, at least a second rating of a second transcription of a voice signal from a second HU device during a second communication session involving the AU device and the second HU device, where the second HU device is different from the first HU device, the second rating indicating feedback from the AU device regarding the second transcription and the second transcription obtained using the first transcription generation technique; selecting, using at least the first and second ratings, a second transcription generation technique for a third communication session involving the AU device and a third HU device that is different from the first HU device and the second HU device, the second transcription generation technique selected to generate a third transcription of a voice signal from the third HU device; and obtaining, during the third communication session, the third transcription that is generated using the second transcription generation technique.
Claim 2: The method of claim 1, wherein the first transcription generation technique includes an automatic speech recognition system that receives an HU voice signal and generates a transcription of the HU voice signal independent of any re-voicing by a call assistant.
Claim 3: The method of claim 2, wherein the second transcription generation technique includes using a re-voicing speech recognition system to generate the third transcription, wherein the re-voicing speech recognition system includes an automatic speech recognition system that receives a re-voicing of the HU voice signal by a call assistant and captions the re-voiced signal to generate the third transcription.
Claim 4: The method of claim 1, wherein the second transcription generation technique includes using a re-voicing speech recognition system to generate the third transcription, wherein the re-voicing speech recognition system includes an automatic speech recognition system that receives a re-voicing of the HU voice signal by a call assistant and captions the re-voiced signal to generate the third transcription.
Claim 5: The method of claim 1 wherein the first transcription generation technique includes using a re-voicing speech recognition system to generate the first transcription and the second transcription, wherein the re-voicing speech recognition system includes an automatic speech recognition system that receives a re-voicing of the HU voice signal by a call assistant and captions the re-voiced signal to generate the third transcription.
Claim 6: The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the first rating includes: presenting a request for the first rating on the AU device after termination of the first communication session; and obtaining the first rating from the AU device based on a response to the request.
Claim 7: The method of claim 6, wherein obtaining the second rating includes: presenting a second request for the second rating on the AU device after termination of the second communication session; and obtaining the second rating from the AU device based on a response to the second request.
Claim 8: The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the second transcription generation technique includes: determining a number of ratings of a plurality of ratings from the AU device, which include the first rating and the second rating, that meet a poor rating threshold; and selecting the second transcription generation technique based on the number of ratings satisfying a number threshold.
Claim 9: The method of claim 1 wherein the AU device includes a processor and wherein the first transcription generation technique includes an automatic speech recognition technique run by the AU device processor.
Claim 10: The method of claim 9 also for use with a remote relay that is independent of the AU device and the HU device and wherein the second transcription generation technique includes transcribing at the remote relay.
Claim 11: The method of claim 10 wherein the second transcription process includes a re-voicing of the third voice signal at the remote relay, wherein the re-voicing includes an automatic speech recognition system that receives a re-voicing of the third voice signal by a call assistant.
Claim 12: The method of claim 1 further including presenting the first transcription via an AU device display and presenting the second transcription via the AU device display.
Claim 13: The method of claim 12 further including presenting the third transcription via the AU device display.
Claim 14: At least one non-transitory computer-readable media configured to store one or more instructions that in response to being executed by at least one computing system cause performance of the method of claim 1.
Claim 15: The method of claim 1 further including obtaining, at a system, at least a third rating of a fourth transcription of a voice signal from a fourth HU device during a fourth communication session involving the AU using the AU device and the fourth HU device, the third rating indicating feedback from the AU device regarding the fourth transcription and the fourth transcription obtained using the second transcription generation technique, the step of selecting including selecting, using at least the first, second and third ratings, the second transcription generation technique for the third communication session.
Claim 16: The method of claim 1 wherein each of the steps of obtaining the first rating and obtaining the second rating includes presenting a plurality of rating options via the AU device that are selectable by the AU for indicating satisfaction level of an associated transcription.
Claim 17: The method of claim 16 wherein the step of presenting a plurality of rating options includes presenting only two options including a “good” option and a “poor” option.
Claim 18: The method of claim 16 wherein the AU device includes a touch sensitive display screen, the method further including presenting the first transcription via the display screen and presenting the second transcription via the display screen, the step of presenting a plurality of rating options including presenting the rating options via the display screen, each option selectable via touch.
Claim 19: A method comprising: at the end of each of a series of consecutive communication sessions, each involving an assisted user (AU) device and at least one hearing user (HU) device, obtaining at a system a satisfaction rating from the AU device of an associated transcription using a first transcription generation technique of an HU voice signal captured during the session; selecting, using the satisfaction ratings, a second transcription generation technique for a next communication session involving the AU device and at least one next HU device, the second transcription generation technique selected to generate a next transcription of voice signal captured by the at least one next HU device; and obtaining, during the next communication session, the next transcription that is generated using the second transcription generation technique.
Claim 20: The method of claim 19, wherein the first transcription generation technique includes an automatic speech recognition system that receives an HU voice signal and generates a transcription of the HU voice signal independent of any re-voicing by a call assistant.
Claim 21: The method of claim 20, wherein the second transcription generation technique includes using a re-voicing speech recognition system to generate the next transcription, wherein the re-voicing speech recognition system includes an automatic speech recognition system that receives a re-voicing of the HU voice signal by a call assistant and captions the re-voiced signal to generate the next transcription.
Claim 22: The method of claim 19, wherein the second transcription generation technique includes using a re-voicing speech recognition system to generate the next transcription, wherein the re-voicing speech recognition system includes an automatic speech recognition system that receives a re-voicing of the HU voice signal by a call assistant and captions the re-voiced signal to generate the next transcription.
Claim 23: The method of claim 19, wherein obtaining the rating includes: presenting a request for the rating on the AU device after termination of an associated communication session; and obtaining the rating from the AU device based on a response to the request.
Claim 24: The method of claim 19 wherein the series of communication sessions includes at least first and second communication sessions.
Claim 25: The method of claim 24 wherein the first communication session is between the AU device and a first HU device, the second communication session is between the AU device and a second HU device, and the next communication session is between the AU device and a third HU device.
Claim 26: A system comprising: one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable media configured to store instructions that in response to being executed by the one or more processors cause the system to perform operations, the operations comprising: at the end of each of a series of consecutive communication sessions, each involving an assisted user (AU) device and at least one hearing user (HU) device, obtaining at a system a satisfaction rating from the AU device of an associated transcription using a first transcription generation technique of an HU voice signal captured during the session; selecting, using the satisfaction ratings, a second transcription generation technique for a next communication session involving the AU device and at least one next HU device, the second transcription generation technique selected to generate a next transcription of voice signal captured by the at least one next HU device; and obtaining, during the next communication session, the next transcription that is generated using the second transcription generation technique.
Claim 27: The system of claim 26, wherein the first transcription generation technique includes an automatic speech recognition system that receives an HU voice signal and generates a transcription of the HU voice signal independent of any re-voicing by a call assistant.
Claim 28: The system of claim 27, wherein the second transcription generation technique includes using a re-voicing speech recognition system to generate the next transcription, wherein the re-voicing speech recognition system includes an automatic speech recognition system that receives a re-voicing of the HU voice signal by a call assistant and captions the re-voiced signal to generate the next transcription.
Claim 29: The system of claim 26, wherein the second transcription generation technique includes using a re-voicing speech recognition system to generate the next transcription, wherein the re-voicing speech recognition system includes an automatic speech recognition system that receives a re-voicing of the HU voice signal by a call assistant and captions the re-voiced signal to generate the next transcription.
Claim 30: The system of claim 26, wherein obtaining the rating includes: presenting a request for the rating on the AU device after termination of an associated communication session; and obtaining the rating from the AU device based on a response to the request.
Claim 31: The system of claim 26 wherein the series of communication sessions includes at least first and second communication sessions.
Claim 32: The system of claim 31 wherein the first communication session is between the AU device and a first HU device, the second communication session is between the AU device and a second HU device, and the next communication session is between the AU device and a third HU device.
For these reasons, claims 1-20 are rejected. Claims 2-18 depend on claim 1.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 Form.
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LISA HASHEM whose telephone number is 571-272-7542. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Carolyn Edwards can be reached on 571-270-7136.
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/LISA HASHEM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2692
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